Georgia Football: Over/Under 9.5 Wins in 2016
5dimes has set the over/under for Georgia football wins at 9.5 – is there any money to be made?
Georgia football won more than 9 games ten times during Mark Richt’s tenure with the Bulldogs of Athens. If he were still the coach, my money would ride on the over. Mark Richt had established himself with Georgia football and anything less than at least 9 would be shocking. Including a bowl game, Richt would guide the Bulldogs to at least 10 victories in 2016.
Related Arkansas Football: Over/Under 7 Wins
Making things interesting, however, is that Mark Richt is no longer the head man in Athens. Kirby Smart is now leading the charge for Georgia football. While many feel like he will be a quality head coach after serving so long under Nick Saban, he remains the wildcard for Georgia football in 2016. Can he guide the Bulldogs to at least 10 victories in 2016?
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Before we breakdown their schedule, let’s briefly address why the number 10 is so important. 5dimes set the over/under number for Georgia football wins at 9.5 for 2016. This means if you decided to place a bet on the Dog’s season victory total, you would have to pick either under (9 or less) or over (10 or more). I do want to stress that this is just for fun and is not meant to be a betting guide. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s see if Georgia football attaining 10 wins is realistic.
Georgia Football 2016 Schedule
North Carolina (in Atlanta, Georgia) – Loss. The Tar Heels are coming off their first double digit win season under Larry Fedora and their first since 1997 when a ball coach named Mack Brown was roaming the sidelines. The Tar Heels return more than the Bulldogs and will pull out what is essentially a road victory here.
Nicholls State – Win
@Missouri – Win. While traveling to Missouri is never fun, the Tigers simply do not have enough on offense to threaten a talented Georgia football defense led by Kirby Smart. It may be a close game on the scoreboard, but this one will never be in doubt.
@Ole Miss – Toss-up. The Rebels return the SEC’s best quarterback while the Bulldogs will have likely turned fulltime to true freshman Jacob Eason at this point. The Rebels have been known to slip at least once in SEC play against a team most expect them to beat, though.
Sidenote: I wish this game was one year later so we could see an Eason-Shea Patterson duel.
Tennessee – Toss-up. The Volunteers will likely be favored in this game and I would pick them without hesitation in this game if it were in Knoxville. It is in Athens, though, and Kirby Smart is more familiar with Tennessee than any other SEC East opponent thanks to his time at Alabama.
@South Carolina – Win. In a battle of Saban protégés, Smart wins round one due to inheriting a more complete roster. I’d definitely take Eason over any options South Carolina has.
Vanderbilt – Win. I think Vanderbilt will be much improved and this will be an entertaining game throughout. Vanderbilt will shock someone in 2016, but it will likely be in Nashville.
Florida (in Jacksonville) – Toss-up. As I’ve mentioned before, any game involving Florida has to be considered a toss-up until we see the Gator’s level of quarterback play in 2016.
@Kentucky – Win. Much like I think Vanderbilt will surprise someone, I think Kentucky will as well. I just don’t think Smart will allow his team to be caught off guard in year one.
Auburn – Win. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised to see Auburn win the SEC this year. Auburn only seems to do well when there are plenty of doubters. Count me in the doubters group.
UL Lafayette – Win. This isn’t the Ragin’ Cajuns of the days before their NCAA sanctions.
Georgia Tech – Win. I have no idea what happened to Paul Johnson last year, but I don’t see the Yellow Jackets returning to 2014 form this season. It is a rivalry game, though.
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Betsided
Tallying it all, have one definite loss for the Georgia football team to go with 3 toss-up games. I guess that’s the benefit of taking over one of only three teams that actually have a shot of winning the SEC East this year. Richt failed to win as many of those toss-up games lately, though, and that is the pressure that faces Smart.
More sec: A Dark Day For Alabama Football
I think Georiga loses to North Carolina, probably Ole Miss and either Tennessee or Florida. That puts them at 9-3, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them slip up against one of the “other” SEC East teams. If bowl season isn’t included, I’m going under. If the bowl game is included, I’m staying away from this altogether.
